The 22 ministries declared by the Gizire canton include the ministries of foreign relations, defense and youth affairs.

The assembly also elected Ekrem Heso, a Kurd, as president. His two vice presidents are Elizabet Gewriye, a Syriac, and Husen Ezem, an Arab.

The declaration of autonomy coincides with the troubled Geneva II conference, which opens in Switzerland on Wednesday and is aimed at finding solutions for the Syrian conflict.

After months of mediation by the Kurdistan Regional Government and prominent Kurdish politicians from Turkey, the Syrian Kurdish People’s Council and Kurdistan National Council (KNC) agreed last month to attend the Geneva meeting under a united banner.

World powers ignored a Kurdish demand for their own seat at the conference and denied entry to the leader the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the dominant Kurdish force in Syria.

Facebook and Twitter accounts showed pictures of thousands of people in Rojava, celebrating the declaration of autonomy.

Turkey, which has a large Kurdish population, rejected a unilateral declaration of autonomy over Syria’s Kurdish lands by the PYD last month. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) likewise has rejected the unilateral autonomy declaration, without the consent of all Syrian Kurdish parties.

Comments

Brave people of Rojava, So proud of my brothers and sister.
Huge moment for kurds, Rojava will the heavan in which kurds from other parts of kurdistan can go and not be prosecuted by fellow kurds who have being ordered by the enemies of kurds.
Today was also The 68th anniversary of the Kurdistan Republic of in Mahabad.

We should all support the determination of our brothers and sisters in Rojava regardless of the objection by the guys in the five star hotels.
Rojava will not have Yellow army and green army's and be used the enemies of kurds to fight each other

This is the first step towards an independent West-Kurdistan.
First create a united Kurdish army of the various Kurdish militias.
I mean a independent army with an independent millitary council who is not affiliated with any party,but only to the future interrior ministery of Western-Kurdistan.
Than expand the Kurdish gains in Syria to the Mediterranean Sea. Whe must then conquere the coastel city of Latakia. Then we must held elections and then declare autonomy or even independence.
As the conflcit in Syria continues whe must declare independence.